Public, private, and reference animals

Every animal profile is public unless you make it private. To hide one, open the arrow menu on its profile and choose Make private. After that, only you and your team can see it.

A reference animal is a profile for an animal you do not own, such as a sire or dam you add so a pedigree is complete. A reference can be private too, with one limit explained below.

Public animals

Anyone can view a public animal. Its public photos, records, and pedigree can show up in search, the herdbook (the public record search), and other places people browse on Creatures.

Choose public when buyers, followers, or other breeders should find the animal.

Private animals

A private animal is hidden from the public. Owners, co-owners, and team members can still see it. So can people with an active care or sale role, within the access they have. A Private badge sits next to the animal's name.

To make an animal private, or public again:

1. Open the animal's profile. You need to be an owner or co-owner.
2. Select the arrow button at the end of the buttons under the animal's name, More animal actions.
3. Select Make private. To undo it later, choose Make public from the same menu.

The change saves right away, and the page shows a message such as "Nell is now private. Only you and your team can see it."

Creatures will not make an animal private in two cases. It tells you which one applies:

• It has an active listing. End the listing first.
• It has sponsors. End the sponsorship first. This includes a sponsorship gift that is still waiting to be claimed.

If the animal has a published stud offer, making it private pauses the offer. Make the animal public again before you resume it.

New animals

When you add an animal, the form shows Public profile · Change (or Private profile · Change if your settings start new animals as private). Select it to choose Public or Private.

To start every new animal as private, go to Settings > Account > Privacy and turn on Default new animals to private. If you make two new animals private in a row, Creatures also asks once if you want that default.

Already have public animals? Once that default is on, the same page shows Animals you already have. Select Make them private. Any with an active listing or sponsors stay public, and Creatures tells you why. This covers animals you own yourself, not your farm's.

Reference animals

Private references are visible only to you and your team. Public references help other breeders link their animals to the same ancestor.

You choose when you create the reference. With Add animal, pick Public or Private under Keep this reference private. From your animal's Pedigree tab, turn on Keep this parent private. To change it later, open the reference, select Edit profile, and pick Public or Private under Who can see this reference?

You can switch an existing reference to private only when every offspring linked to it belongs to you, your organizations, or your other private references. If it is linked to another member's animal, or not yet to one of yours, Creatures explains that it stays public. References made by an import start public.

The person who added a reference can keep it up to date while it is unclaimed. That does not make them the owner. When the real owner joins, they can claim it. See Reference animals: documenting lineage and inviting the owner.

Profile privacy and record privacy are separate

A public profile does not make every record public. Check each record's privacy before you share it.

Changing owners is a transfer, not a privacy change. See Transferring an animal to its new owner.

Related information

• Reference animals: documenting lineage and inviting the owner
• Co-owners and team members: sharing access to an animal
• Adding an animal to Creatures

Updated on: 02/11/2026